Internet surveys allow for both close-ended and open-ended questions just as on a telephone survey, but in addition respondents can be presented with and evaluate advertising concepts or messaging components. We recommend using internet surveys when trying to complete:

Surveys among a very specialized audience, such as physicians or business leaders;

Surveys among hard to reach audiences, such as opinion elites;

Membership or customer studies; or,

A quantitative measurement of testing an advertising concept or testing detailed more in-depth messaging that cannot be done over the telephone.

Some examples of this work include:

Advertising recall and content assessment surveys for on-going ad campaigns in support of public policy issues. This allows us to gauge recall and ad performance in multiple markets and among a range of customer segments.

Extensive membership or customer surveys for several organizations and leading associations. The surveys probe members/customers about organizational performance, information use/needs, perceptions of client mission statement, and needs assessment. These surveys have been used for extensive internal review and improvement for our clients, allowing them to make customer-focused changes to their organizations.

Test the appeal and effectiveness of websites. For some of these projects, we conducted two parallel surveys – one testing our client’s website, and one that tested a similar questionnaire with a competing website. This technique allowed us to have control data for our client’s results, as well as allowing a variety of comparisons on comparable attributes.

Evaluate several advertisements from a quantitative perspective by drawing large sample sizes at very reasonable costs. Online ad testing can be utilized during the development phase by testing various ad concepts or executions in an online platform where participants can view the full ads. Online ad testing surveys are very useful for comparing competing versions of ads through a multiple-sample testing model and testing against a control group that has not viewed an ad.

Logistics:

Panelists are asked to log onto a website with secured password protection. Depending on the audience being interviewed, an online study can be in the field for a few days or up to several weeks.

Applications:

Internet-based surveys are frequently used for targeted research purposes, particularly when trying to reach a very specific, difficult-to-reach constituency. Entirely customizable, online surveys offer clients the benefit of interviewing specific audiences not always possible by telephone (doctors, business leaders, c-level executives, membership surveys, retail shoppers, etc.) Best used in researching specific, targeted audience that would otherwise be difficult (and cost-prohibitive) to reach by telephone.

Public Opinion Strategies helped us to clarify what we wanted to learn and then conducted research and analysis that shed light even beyond the questions we set out to ask. They were very receptive to our suggestions, responsive to our queries, and flexible when we needed them to be.

Public Opinion Strategies has consistently offered unparalleled advice and spot-on polling that has shaped how and where we spent money and deploy key resources. Additionally, they have always been an excellent steward of limited campaign resources, ensuring we spend wisely and not a dollar more than necessary in order to get the information we need.

Robert Blizzard and Public Opinion Strategies did a great job for us throughout our successful campaign for Congress. Robert gave us accurate data, spot on analysis, and professional advice, all of which were essential to our victory.

Public Opinion Strategies is one of our go-to pollsters when it comes to testing public support for bond ballot measures and other initiative proposals. They are available to provide ongoing consultation with regard to crafting of ballot questions, public outreach messaging, and related efforts.

ACLI has worked with Public Opinion Strategies for decades, through several tough industry battles—often ones in which public opinion does not naturally fall on the side of insurers. Yet Bill and his team consistently provide invaluable strategic advice by refining our messages and helping us frame our issues in a way that makes them understandable and persuasive.

The data from Public Opinion Strategies provided important insight and informed our public awareness campaign. We sincerely appreciate their professionalism and expertise in this arena.

Nicole McCleskey and the team at Public Opinion Strategies have been invaluable to me, both during my campaigns and as Governor of the State of New Mexico. It’s not just the accuracy of their numbers, but guiding the overall strategy that makes them so valuable.

Public Opinion Strategies has been a part of our team in Missouri for more than a decade. With their data and guidance, Republicans here were able to attain a majority in the House in 2002 for the first time in fifty years, and we have been able to grow that majority to the point that we now have a record, veto-proof majority.

Lori Weigel from Public Opinion Strategies reviewed our needs and guided us toward asking the right questions. Her reporting was easy to follow and her interpretation of the data provided clear decision points.

In my tenure at two leading business associations, facing huge and complex consumer issues, I have benefitted enormously from the objective advisory skills of Bill and his team. They do their homework, they are rigorous, dispassionate and thoughtful. Turning questions into answers is a clever tag, but it’s also an apt description of the professional talents of the firm.

I consider Public Opinion Strategies to be a part of our team. That is the way we have always worked. They have helped us to understand our needs and fashioned research solutions to meet those needs. They have helped us to meet killer deadlines by being flexible, executing rapidly, and insuring quality. Teamwork is the best way to describe it.

Accuracy, speed, and deep knowledge of key issues and public sentiment are the hallmarks of quality opinion research, and on these measures Public Opinion Strategies consistently delivers. I have had the pleasure of working with Public Opinion Strategies for more than 15 years on dozens of issues, and they are undoubtedly the gold standard.

Public Opinion Strategies’ track record of success and wealth of experience in political campaigns and issue advocacy are why they are one of the most trusted and well respected public opinion firms in Washington, D.C. Their insights and perspectives have helped to inform a wide array of public affairs activities across multiple industries.